Practitioners Books

As a physical therapist, I find myself turning to this book frequently. This book compiles some of the best minds of today and integrates the latest research on the back into an accessible format. The techniques and exercises are clear and easy to reproduce. The focus on functional outcomes and patient activation are critical in framing how clinicians treat those with back pain. I strongly recommend this book to any practitioner who works with people with back pain.

As a neurosurgical resident, the care of the spine patient can be summed up as: "can I cut it out." For many patients, this is helpful. For many others, sadly, my knife cannot help - most of these patients are left without a diagnosis, and more importantly without an explanation for why they are having the troubles they are having.

This book clearly and comprehensively covers the topic of spine pain, providing a context and perspective that I have found extremely useful in the clinical setting. This book can help the spine surgeon give direction to otherwise direction-less patients with life-ruining conditions.

This should be required reading for anyone operating on the spine.

Best comprehensive approach to rehabilitation methods to date. I have taken the diplomate program to get board certified in rehabilitation, the basis of which is from the Rehabilitation of the Spine. Craig Liebenson's book is one of the finest rehab manuals out there today.

This is a great source of information for patients and doctors in the journey to better health and improved function for the patient who is willing to work at becoming healthier. A program can be created for a patient to achieve a much better level of functioning no matter what their age. Chiropractic care and proper rehabilitation can change lives for the better!!

This text is the "sine qua non" for spine physicians and therapists who focus on rehabilitation. It establishes a firm foundation for spinal stability and how this process becomes dysfunctional, discussing the neurophysiological, pathophysiological, and biopsychosocial dimensions of the patients we treat. Additionally, more information is provided for the cervical spine and upper and lower extremities. Moreover, the treatment procedures and accompanying DVD are excellent resources for the practitioner. Dr. Liebenson is to be praised and thanked for this needed update to the first edition. The international experts, including Dr. Liebenson, have provided an outstanding text. Many thanks!

If you are absolutely brand-new to process improvement (I was), this book will be useful for you. It will teach you the basics of Goal-Question-Measurement (GQM), how to get some visibility to your efforts, etc. However, its shelf-life is rather short, and it does not lend itself well as a reference.

If you've been through a process improvement initiative before, or if you're in an organization that takes this kind of stuff mildly seriously already, most of this will be review and self-evident.

The numerous examples, cases, graphs, and templates give the reader the tools to start the improvements in his or her own organization. Furthermore, the book is fun and easy to read. To me and my colleagues, it'll be very useful!

This book is simply fantastic. Neil Potter and Mary Sakry show you, simply and clearly, how to tie your process improvement activities to the things that matter in your business. Rather than an onerous "why are we improving for improvement sake", this book shows how to find what hurts, make it better and raise maturity regardless of what improvement model you may use. The book can be read in about an hour, and there are many appendicies that provide practical and easy to understand examples. Reading the book doesn't make process improvement easy (change is never easy), but it puts you down the right path. The best chance of institutionalizing real process improvement is through solving the real problems of the company and its employees and customers.

I especially recommend that company executives read this book, since they often set the tone for a process improvement effort.

This book is a must read for anyone heading up a process improvement practice.

The development of quality software has proven to be one of the most difficult tasks ever to arise in the brains of humans. With so many ways to fail and so few paths to success, there is not a single software shop without a great deal of room for improvement. However, determining that a shop needs to improve is about as difficult as hitting the ground if you slip on ice. The hard part is identifying where the changes should be made and making sure that real change is done rather than some simple shuffling of resources or pointless changing of names.
That point is where this book becomes valuable. It is a concise document, describing in broad, but not excruciatingly fine detail how to improve processes for managing the construction of software. The names of the chapters summarize the basics of any well-constructed process: developing a plan, implementing the plan and checking progress. It also gives you sound advice as to how to track the changes in the process, so important to convince those doing the changing that what you are doing is in their interest.
I recommend that all managers of software development projects examine this book. It will also show you how to stay on track, as it is all too easy to find excuses to significantly deviate from any plan.

This is one of those books that you'd think would be common sense knowledge, but isnt. I've been working in process improvement for 22 years and this is the first book I've found that collects all of the strategies I've found successful in one place!

The book starts by showing how easy it is to get "lost in the trees" (and kill a bunch of them in the process) if you try to "do CMM" like most people do the first time around. The authors do a great job of showing how to keep the main thing (delivering better quality software) the main thing and avoid creating mountains of useless documentation.

I would recommend that anyone looking at achieving higher levels of maturity in CMM, SPICE, or ISO 9000 read this and take a reality check on their plans.

I bought both your book as well as Mental Models AS PER YOUR RECOMMENDATION AND REGRETTED THAT MORE.

Yours is information vaguely spread along 560 pages and Indi's book is totally abstract, which I am still trying to understand. I would have appreciated if you could have cut all the fluff in 60 pages instead.

GOD KNOWS how do you guys get all the five stars FROM

If only all my college textbooks were this well written and practical, I would have saved tons of money on coffee! The style of the book is conversational, the organization is clear, and the user research tips are great! This book has been a valuable resource to frame my graduate course in human computer interaction. Each week we cover a chapter and post our reactions to our Shiny Happy People user experience blog. The book has many layers, so that the usability novice to expert can glean plenty of tips and techniques.

I can recommend this book. It is well-written and readable, with practical advice and examples. I am referencing it as part of my daily work as a Usability Analyst in a large government department.

This book rocks! Of all the reference resources I have in my cube, this is the one I lend out to people who ask, "jb, what is user research and how do you do it?" Mike's book has the techniques down - soup to nuts -- useful for the novice and seasoned practitioner.

I'm always recommending this book to my colleagues. This is not a book that is meant to be read cover to cover. It's more of a desk top reference for all kinds of user research techniques. I've found it to be very comprehensive. Buy it, you won't regret it!

I just took the AANP exam and passed it thanks to this book. The review tests were very similar to the format and context of the Adult NP exam. I also used Fitzgerald as a resource but this book really solidified the information, especially the rationales. The accompanying CD pulls questions from the text so there is a high likelihood of repeated questions.

The questions in this book are very similar to what the actual boards are like. I only found a couple of errors and those were in how the answers were coded (correct answer, wrong corresponding number). The CD is very useful although I did notice that there were some questions that were on every "random" test.

This book was very helpful and it was my primary resource in studying for my exam (which I passed).

The review book is very detailed and helpful at the same time. It made me think alot about the different disease states and really prepared me for my final exam. I would recommend this review book to anyone who has difficulty taking tests, it really helps to get you in the thinking mood for an exam!!

Well I just passed my boards(AANP) today and I owe it to this book. This was 75-80% of my prep. I did 1-2 full exams daily for a week and passed. I did have another book that only had about 400 questions, but after the first test, I would get repeat questions everytime. This was helpful because of the rationales and the questions are true representations of the actual test. I would recommend this book 100%. Good Luck!

I purchased several review books (about 6) to help me study for the AANP Adult Nurse practitoner exam that I took and passsed in June 2006. Needless to say, I probably bought too many review books but I thought I could use all the extra help since it was almost 4 years since I gradauted from the adult NP program and decided to take the exam. This book was my 2nd favorite book to use, especially the review questions in the CD the book came with. The questions were similiar in format as the AANP exam. My only caution is that some of the answers in CD practice exam did not correspond with the explanation answer. I would highly recommend Fitzgerald's review CD/manual and her review book, Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination and Practice Preparation as the best review source. Fitzgerald would get 5 stars.

I bought this book with high expectations. I did find a few useful points in the book (hence 2 stars instead of 1), but the book fails miserably at doing what it promises. After looking at Alan Weiss' website (Summit Consulting) it became clear to me that he is very good at marketing books and selling himself as a speaker. But a great consultant he is not. At least it does not come across in his book.

Alan Weiss continues to boil down the best practices for consultants into his Ulimate Consultant Series. Much of the materials he covers are in other books on the topic. What makes How to Acquire Clients: Powerful Techniques for the Successful Practitioner (The Ultimate Consultant Series)valuable is that the information is all in one place and distilled into understandable strategies and actions. Only Get Clients Now!(TM): A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coachesis more direct in its usefulness and approach

Alan has done it again, as he has so many times before. This is yet another book full of relevant advice, common sense, and just good stuff all round! As with all of Alan's boooks, this is a definite "NEED TO" book for ALL consultants who call themselves PROFESSIONAL.

I have read almost all the books in this series as well as several others on the topic Mr. Weiss has written. They are all excellent! Contrary to another reviewer this book is not a rehash of other material. This book is incredible in telling consultants how to track down and land new clients, which is the life blood of any consulting practice.

I loved the section on overcoming objections. In my practice I have run into some of these objections as well as others and never had a good answer for them. Now I do. The material in this book changed my consulting sales in the one year since I started implementing the ideas and revenue has doubled in that same year.

If you are a consultant and have ever struggled with over coming objections, searching for new clients, or landing new business then you need to read this book.

Like the other books from this series, "How to Acquire Clients" is very hands on, and is presented in Alan Weiss' inimitable, tell-it-like-it-is style.

It begins with the proposition that successful selling occurs at the intersection of need, competency and passion - all of which, fortunately can be controlled by the consultant. Contrarian as ever, Weiss makes the case for generalising as a way to broaden your appeal, while customising your approach for high potential prospects.

In the second chapter, you are told to focus on the economic buyer (the fellow who has the budget and dicretion to spend on your services). You are taught to identify, meet and interact with the economic buyer as a peer. You also learn indirect methods of getting to the economic buyer where direct means fail.

Further you learn to match your approach to the predisposition of the buyer, follow a plan for controlling your meeting by setting objctives for each meeting, providing value early, listening 75% of the time and ending with an action plan suggested by you. You also learn to rebut obections which generally fall into no trust, no need, no hurry and no money (though they may be disguised as other issues).

Ever realistic, Weiss also teaches you how to "steal" clients from other consultants by plucking low-hanging fruits, positioning yourself through high vsibility, providing a bold contrarian solution to issues etc. You also learn to ensure repreat business and how to be selective (avoiding clients you do not want and getting those you do).

Overall, the book provides top value for money.

Easy to read - but anyone bright enough to be successful in business would find much of the material obvious.

I am not one to read but the small concise chapters made it easy to follow. Although I have been in sales and marketing for years, I still learned a lot. This book was given to me as I'm in transition in my career and I found many useful tidbits. The title may focus on the holistic practitioner, but the content is universal for any profession. If you're looking for something to point you in the right direction with clear, simple steps - then this is for you! I highly recommend it.

I am one of those business owners who let the fear of marketing get in the way of real success. A friend bought me this book, and it's been a real postive step in increasing my business. The chapters are short but packed with good information and I'm looking forward to the weeks ahead with my Marketing Guide. The quotes the author chose are so inspirational! I've just ordered two more books for my friends in the business....

Great book. Brilliant author. It's evident that she knows the material very well. A must read by anyone who wants to build a practice, market their business and expand their dreams into a reality.

The content doesn't even make it through the basics of marketing let alone provide any valuable information. The printing is poor quality and the fonts annoying. In order to make it look valuable the book contains more white space then words. It looks as if the author took 30 tips and spread them as far as she could so it would create a book.

It is very well written and helpful especially for young physicians starting or in the early years of their practice. I should have gotten and read it earlier but then there are still so many nuggets of wisdom that are very useful for me.

Mostly common sense, but great way to start out your practicing career fresh out of residency!!!

This book really "works"-it's getting rid of the stress in my medical practice. The text is fast reading, no-balony, actually entertaining-loaded with great examples, quotes, and vignettes that drive home the many pearls (and a fair scattering of diamonds) or practical wisdom. I was immediately able to tell this book was written by practicing docs just like me: no wheezy absrtractions, no boring theory-mongoring, and no long lists of desirable (but impossible-to -achieve) "ideal" practices. Instead this is smart, practical stuff I have been able to use immediately to save myself hassles and wasted time/motion/effort. I highly recommend to all physicians the section on how to leverage your relationships to produce more, and also the section on continuing education, which was an eye-opener for me. I personally feel that every practicing physician should have a copy of this book,and use what's in it. Get this book today-it will work for you.

Don't read this book if you can take a few hundred hours off from your practice and conduct your own research, surveys, and interviews with other practitioners to discover what they are doing to improve productivity.

This book is an outstanding collection of 140 ideas, insights, workarounds, and inspiration. Invest the time it takes you to read this book back into your daily practice. If you get through this book in four hours, and if you use just one idea out of the 140, and that idea saves you just 1/100th of your daily working time and effort--that will be a savings of 24 hours per year, or a net annual profit on time invested of 500%.

Do you know of any other investment that nets you 500% annually?

Yuval Lirov, Practicing Profitability - Billing Network Effect for Revenue Cycle Control in Healthcare Clinics and Chiropractic Offices: Collections, Audit Risk, SOAP Notes, Scheduling, Care Plans, and Coding

A wonderful book for new docs, but as one who has practices for 20 years , I felt "been there done that" with most of the advice.

Although Dr. Winter's manual is technically written for other holistic vets, I've gotten a lot out of it as a lay pet owner. I use it together with Anitra Frazier's New Natural Cat to try to understand what's going on with my guys when something doesn't seem quite right. It has helped me, with its clear layout of symptoms, factors and options, sort through both what and how serious a given problem might be. It also, under the "holistic challenge" heading in each section and through the numerous essays in the back, has helped me understand the difference between holistic and conventional approaches to health problems, which in turn has helped me be a better participant in my pet's care. The Holistic Veterinary Handbook isn't the only resource I use, but it's a valuable one.

This is an excellent book! I purchased The Holistic Veterinary Handbook 3 years ago, and this book has been my most widely used reference book from my library on pet health. As an "ordinary" dog owner, I find this book to be very straightforward and thorough in its descriptions of the various medical problems that a pet might face - from behavior issues to digestive problems, mouth diseases, eyes, ears, nose, traumas and infections, skin problems, joint/extremity problems, respiratory, cancer, heart problems, problems found in geriatric animals, etc - and provides the holistic ways of approaching the treatment of these problems. It's very apparent from reading this book and the successes I've had by using the various recommended treatment plans that Dr. Winter is highly knowledgeable in integrating the various therapies for alternative veterinarian medicine, for he outlines herbal treatments, homeopathics, flower essences, vitamins, glandular supplements, plus a natural diet and other modalities, such as the benefits of massage, opening chakras, acupuncture, etc to help restore and maintain the pet's health.

The individual treatment plans for many common diseases are the main focus of the Handbook. I particularly like and appreciate the clear and concise format of these recommended treatment plans. Each page is devoted to one disease, and then each disease is broken down into 3 parts. 1) "Holistic Rationale" which provides a practical description/explanation of the disease itself, which gives me as the pet owner a better understanding of the specific medical problem or a simple explanation as to what probably caused the problem in the first place; 2) an easy-to-follow, step-by-step diagnostic and Treatment Plan for tackling the problem - the recommended supplements, vitamins, herbs, are listed one-by-one, just like ingredients in a recipe book, so there aren't paragraphs of information to read through to find the information you're looking for; and 3) "Holistic Challenge" which gives a brief challenge to the pet owner or veterinarian on how to continue the alternative approach for the particular problem you're dealing with.

The last part of the book rounds out the holistic challenge by providing different recipes for things like nutritional supplement mixtures, 2 invaluable recipes for cats who have stopped eating or that are critical or anorexic, as well as a homemade tick repellent so that you can stay away from the highly toxic tick collars and vaccines! I've used the tick repellent recipe on myself and on my dogs each spring and summer (I live in a very high deer tick region) and it works wonders. It's all natural ingredients, so I don't have to worry about threatening my dogs' health or my own.

There's also a great dosage table in the back for the various recommended supplements, so you can easily find your animal's weight and dose accordingly. The client handout section includes one-page descriptions of information on various topics from heartworm disease, flea control products, fleas and flea infestations, hairballs, making a homemade diet for your animal, urinary problems in cats, etc. Plus, there's a "Product Sources" section which tells you where you can purchase various supplements. This is the type of information that is so extremely useful to have on hand for any pet owner, and it's all right there for you in the book!

I HIGHLY recommend The Holistic Veterinary Handbook to any veterinarian who would like to move toward alternative ways of treating their patients and to pet owners who would like to be more proactive with their animals' health on a holistic basis. I have used many of the recommended treatment plans from this book for treating my animals successfully. This is the one book I've found in all my years of searching for a thorough, yet easy-to-read book that combines several different modalities for the overall health of the animal. It truly is a Holistic Veterinary Handbook and an excellent book that every pet owner should own!

This is the first book review that I have ever written. I am drawn to do so because; "The Holistic Veterinary Handbook" by William Winter is such a gem. I am very thankful for William's hard work to compile such a great reference for a holistic approach to animal health. His veterinarian knowledge and schooling has been brought to a place of insight, understanding and wisdom through his gifts of writing, organization, clarity and seeing from a bigger picture. (a larger more "whole-listic" point of view for health.)
"The Holistic Veterinary Handbook" is a quick, complete, and usable reference that resources from several modalities of treatment; diet, herbs, flower essences, vitamins, exercise, and massage just to name a few.

I also enjoyed how the book was lightly peppered with quotes of wisdom and consciousness from shamans and philosophers.

The handbook is complete with over 40 pages of handouts for clients. These handouts are time saving, well written for the layperson, and full of information that will help keep the client educated and involved with the healing and health their pets.

In short, I am very thankful for William's dedication to animal health demonstrated through the writing of this book.

Sincerely,
Craig Ng

As man becomes more technologically advanced, the application of this knowledge tends to change society and its practices. In the field of communication for example, just look at the difference between the first Morse Code transmission and the Internet. But still, there is nothing like sitting down to dinner with a good friend and having a great talk. The same can be said about veterinary medicine. Although change has been huge and constantly upgrades, there are basics which will stay fundamental. Especially in the field of holistic veterinary medicine which already tends to be a throw-back to older medicinal practice, some of the basics are just common sense and timeless. Will's manual is a fine representation of these principles. It is always handy around our clinic!

This is the first book review that I have ever written. I am drawn to do so because; "The Holistic Veterinary Handbook" by William Winter is such a gem. I am very thankful for William's hard work to compile such a great reference for a holistic approach to animal health.

William's veterinarian knowledge and schooling has been brought to a place of insight, understanding and wisdom through his gifts of writing, organization, clarity and seeing from a bigger picture a larger more "whole-listic" point of view for health.

"The Holistic Veterinary Handbook" is a quick, complete, and usable reference that resources from several modalities of treatment; diet, herbs, flower essences, vitamins, exercise, and massage just to name a few.

I also enjoyed how the book was lightly peppered with quotes of wisdom and consciousness from shamans and philosophers.

The handbook is complete with over 40 pages of handouts for clients. These handouts are time saving, well written for the layperson, and full of information that will help keep the client educated and involved with the healing and health their pets.

In short, I am very thankful for William's dedication to animal health demonstrated through the writing of this book....

I purchased this book to help me with a university unit primarily on system testing methods and techniques. Although this book covers many of the primary testing concepts needed for software testing, some of the concepts covered were sometimes completed short (or too verbose in some sections). All of the example questions after each chapter that were stipulated for the student to complete - answers were not provided either in the book, or online. So as a fellow software testing student, when completing some of the exercises, I was unaware of whether I was completing them correctly or not.

However, on the contrary the book has some valuable information that I couldn't even find on the internet (when investigating some further explanations on particular topics covered).

The book could have been written in a more professional manner, covering topics in more detail and exploring some of the minor (and major) difficulties that one can encounter when developing test cases for any software being created.

It helped me with basic understanding of concepts. Further investigation on the internet was needed to get what I deem as "sufficient understanding" of the material covered.

This is a great reference, giving a good overview of most common test methods. Good bases for in-depth study or to structure a class around.

Most texts on software testing have a chapter or two which describe test design techniques. This is the first text that is devoted exclusively to this subject. There is little in the way of theory. The text is practical and provides the software test professional with clear explanations and examples of test techniques that have been proven to be effective.

Although Copeland covers both black box (behavioral) and white box (developer oriented) test techniques, the majority of the test design techniques described are black box. Each technique is explained along with its applicability, advantages/disadvantages, along with references for more information.

For what can be a dry subject, Copeland effectively used humor to make this book very readable.

I also appreciated the chapter summaries, key points in the margins, and a thorough works cited -- including several web articles. Highly recommended.

Lee Copeland's book, "A Practitioner's Guide to Software Test Design" provides an easily read introduction into a critical but often ignored subject. As those familiar with the IEEE Standard for Software Test Documentation (IEEE-Std-829) know, Test Design is the first step in turning the "What" of the Test Plan into the "How" of test execution. The IEEE Test Documentation lifecycle is Test Plan - Test Design - Test Case Development - Test Procedure Development - (Test Execution) - Test Summary Report creation. Many test engineers proceed directly from Test Planning into Test Procedure creation, and do Test Design implicitly as opposed to explicitly. This can have a negative impact on an effective test program. This book clearly shows how to implement the test design process described in Drabick's book "Best Practices for the Formal Software Testing Process".

Lee's book provides a concise description based on excellent Case Studies of Black-Box (Requirements Focused) test techniques, moving from the simple (Equivalence Class and Boundary Value testing) to the more complex (Domain Analysis and Use Case testing). He provides the best description I've seen of test case development using orthogonal arrays. Lee then addresses White-Box (Structural Focused) testing, showing how to approach Control Flow and Data Flow testing. Again, he has the best description with illustrative examples of Data Flow testing that I've ever seen.

Lee then describes two Test Paradigms: Scripted Testing and Exploratory Testing that appear to be significantly different, and shows how the two can be used together for even more effective testing. That's the way I've always done testing, by the way.

His Defect Taxonomies chapter provides valuable insight on how to use such information in test design (I never thought of that), and he concludes with a short chapter that addresses the critical question When to Stop Testing.

The Case Studies on "Brown & Donaldson" and "Stateless University Registration" are effectively used to provide valuable insight into the techniques.

This book would be a good read in combination with the book from Rick Craig and Stefan Jaskiel, "Systematic Software Testing".

In summary, this book is well done, is an easy read, and should be read by every test engineer.

This information in this book is simply presented and very easy to apply.

I think the price is a bit high compared to a related book (Systematic Software Testing by Rick D Craig and Stefan P Jaskeil). I managed to get the other book (536 pages) for about $40.00. While the other book represents much better value, I still bought this one and would do it again. If you can only buy one, I'd suggest getting Systematic Software Testing.

First of all, no 136 page book is worth 22 dollars and change. I also have a problem with a book that teaches someone how to use another book, whereas the original book costs less than the explanation book. Why risk the explanation book getting it wrong (as it does; I second the appellate lawyer's view) when you can sit down with the orginal book?

I know law students are always looking for the one book that will have all the knowledge they need, the magic spellbook of law, but really, you don't need more than the Bluebook, Gardner's Redbook, and your casebook (maybe the Examples and Explanations series) for law school. Forget getting Black's Law Dictionary; it's a piece of garbage now, been dumbed down to the point of useless.

The Blue Book is not complicated, and if you think it is, trying to understand it will improve your mind. If you don't want to do that, maybe you shouldn't be a law student and save the legal profession from a mediocre mind.

Understanding and Mastering The Bluebook: A Guide for Students and Practitioners

I bought this book to help me teach bluebooking to our firm's paralegals, and it will be a good resource. But it contains too many mistakes to be useful as a text. Here are some examples:
1. On page 13, the author states that a case cite in mid-sentence is not followed by a comma unless it is part of an independent clause that would ordinarily require a comma. This is contrary to Rule B5.3 of the Bluebook. The elements of the citation other than the case name must always be "set off" by commas (i.e., before and after) if they are mid-sentence.
2. The definition of "E.g." on page 90 is incorrect, and the "example" makes no sense. "E.g." means "for example," so you would never use it in the middle of a string cite.
3. On p. 93, the author says to combine "See + e.g.," as "See e.g.,". While it is true that the signal "see" does not require a comma, "e.g." must be set off by commas ("See, e.g.,"). See Rule R1.2(a) of the Bluebook for examples.
4. The comma after "accord" in the example on page 90 appears to be a typo - the author clearly knows better.
It's a great start, so I hope there's a second edition in the works.

Many of my students told me this is the most helpful book they bought all year. It really makes the Bluebook manageable. I highly recommend it for Legal Writing professors, as well as practitioners.

This is the best book ever for learning Bluebook citation. I like its format, illustrating how each rule works. Although a previous reviewer found a couple of mistakes in the book, they are really minor (a couple of misplaced commas), and the book is so helpful this shouldn't stop you from buying it. It's a must have book for anyone trying to learn citation and for practitioners who want a quick reference guide.

This is the most user friendly bluebook guide ever.. it is 100X better than Interactive Citation Workbook for The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 2007 Edition If you're a 1L looking for a great introduction to the bluebook this is it.